Fatal — invoice rejected VAT categories & rates UAE-specific rule PINT-AE 2026.5

How to fix ibr-108-ae in UAE e-invoicing

What is ibr-108-ae?

ibr-108-ae is a fatal validation rule in the UAE's Peppol PINT-AE e-invoicing specification — one of the UAE-specific rules. It is checked against the VAT totals and belongs to the VAT categories & rates rule group. An e-invoice that fails ibr-108-ae is rejected by the Accredited Service Provider gateway before it reaches the FTA.

What the official rule says

In a VAT breakdown (IBG-23), where VAT category code (IBT-118) is 'Standard rate additional VAT', VAT category tax amount (IBT-117) MUST be equal to 0 (zero).

UAE impact: this is a fatal rule specific to the UAE PINT-AE profile — an invoice failing it is rejected at the Accredited Service Provider gateway before it ever reaches the FTA. A rejected invoice means resubmission delays, and late transmission risks the AED 100-per-invoice penalty under Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025.

Where it applies

This rule is checked against the VAT totals of your UBL 2.1 invoice:

/*/cac:TaxTotal/cac:TaxSubtotal/cac:TaxCategory[normalize-space(cbc:ID) = 'N'][cac:TaxScheme/normalize-space(upper-case(cbc:ID))='VAT']

Business terms referenced

Term ID	Field	Other rules
IBG-23	VAT breakdown	view →
IBT-118	VAT category code	view →
IBT-117	VAT category tax amount	view →

Field names are derived automatically from the official rule corpus.

Technical test condition (Schematron)

../cbc:TaxAmount = 0

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Related rules

ibr-102-ae In a VAT Breakdown (IBG-23) where the VAT category code (IBT-118) is 'Standard rate additional VAT', aligned-ibrp-045 Each VAT breakdown (ibg-23) MUST have a VAT category taxable amount (ibt-116). aligned-ibrp-046 Each VAT breakdown (ibg-23) MUST have a VAT category tax amount (ibt-117). aligned-ibrp-047 Each VAT breakdown (ibg-23) MUST be defined through a VAT category code (ibt-118). aligned-ibrp-048 Each VAT breakdown (ibg-23) MUST have a VAT category rate (ibt-119), except if the Invoice is not su aligned-ibrp-ae-01-ae An Invoice that contains an Invoice line (ibg-25), a Document level allowance (ibg-20) or a Document aligned-ibrp-ae-08-ae In a VAT Breakdown (IBG-23) where the VAT category code (IBT-118) is 'Reverse Charge', for each diff aligned-ibrp-ae-09-ae In a VAT breakdown (IBG-23) where the VAT category code (IBT-118) is 'Reverse charge', VAT category

Rule text sourced from the official OpenPeppol PINT-AE validation artifacts (version 2026.5), refreshed weekly. Explanations are qmetrics' own guidance, not official FTA/MoF text.